Coen Brothers Talk About ‘True Grit’

Earlier this year it was announced that the Coen Brothers would make their own adaptation of the book ‘True Grit.’ In a recent interview the brothers discussed casting rumors and news.

When asked about the casting Joel Coen was able to confirm many of the rumors going around saying, “Yes, Jeff (Bridges), Matt (Damon) and Josh (Brolin), that’s true – something that you read in the trades that actually turns out to be true!”

Ethan Coen also said that this was not a remake, but an adaptation that is trying to stay closer to the book. He said, “It’s partly a question of point-of-view” the writer-director explained. “The book is entirely in the voice of the 14-year-old girl. That sort of tips the feeling of it over a certain way. I think it’s much funnier than the movie was so I think unfortunately they lost a lot of humor in both the situations and in her voice. It also ends differently than the movie did. You see the main character – the little girl – 25 years later when she’s an adult. Another way in which it’s a little bit different from the movie – and maybe this is just because of the time the movie was made – is that it’s a lot tougher and more violent than the movie reflects. Which is part of what’s interesting about it.”

When asked about the original movie Joel stated, “I don’t actually remember the movie too well, but do I remember it as being much more of a standard western, and the book is just an oddity. It’s a very odd book.”

The 1969 version of ‘True Grit’ was loosely based on the novel by Charles Portis, and revolved around a young girl hiring Cogburn to track down the man who killed her father. Variety reports that Jeff Bridges will play U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn, which was played by John Wayne in the original. Josh Brolin is up for the role of the killer and Matt Damon is reported to play the lawman.